Paper rounds

[Heltor Chasca]

You jest 3/4km too far to walk! WTF

I kid you not. I have since moved to another village where parents drive their kids to the local primary.

500m from their house Progress huh!

Just to show you how self righteous we are, we cycle to our primary everyday and it’s 4.5km away. The neighbours are incredulous. This week I had a neighbour judge me for doing the school run on the bike in the current weather, insinuating I was irresponsible. When I said that we had ice tyres on our mode of transport and they didn’t, their mouth soon froze shut and their rant ended prematurely.

 

[gbb]

Some years ago, this discussion was had at work and a guy there said 'i'd never let my kids do a paper round !'

'Why ever not, i did one of around 50 houses when i was a kid, never did me any harm'

'Nkacker their backs carrying big sacks of papers' was his reply.

And in that moment i thought...youve got something there, what have i had ever since i was 15 or 16....a bad back. And then you remember that huge bag of papers over your shoulder on a Sunday particually, much larger than normal, causing you to almost crab walk it was that heavy until you shifted some.

I guess thats why you saw a proliferation of trolleys for paperboys in the 90s,, and even then i thought...pah.

Nothing wrong with a paper round...but there are things to consider.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Used to do a morning and evening round and a double Sunday round, from the age of 12 to 14. Out in all weathers and no parental assistance.
I then got a job in a local greengrocers that paid half as much again.

I got into window cleaning at 15...that paid for my beer and fags..I know 15

 

[Dave7]

I assumed that parents with thier kids was a safety issue. I wouldnt want children/grandchildren of mine on thier own in the dark these days. Sad but a fact of life.
As a 13/14 year old my job was delivering medicine for the local chemist. No mornings but long evenings. It was near the docks and I got to go on various visiting ships so a bit scary but interesting.
By 15 I was working full time for the princely sum of £4.50 (£4.10 shiilings in real money).

 

[screenman]

I was a hod carrier for Lego at 10 you do not see even see hod's on sites anymore.

 

[Freds Dad]

I did a morning and evening paper round Monday to Saturday and a Sunday morning round. During Bolton holidays when all the factories and most of the shops shut down for two weeks I sold newspapers from the doorway of the local Co-op in the morning and afternoon.
Why I'm not a millionaire with that work ethic I'll never know.

 

[snorri]

No one did a paper round when I was in school, the papers hadn't arrived at the shops until after the school had started for the day, and there were no evening papers to deliver.

 

[cosmicbike]

Interesting about kids being driven on their rounds, since I did it this morning. My lad (14) got his round on 1st January. I rode the first day with him to make sure his lights were adequate and that he was comfy with the route, which is just over 6 miles door to door.
He rides it all the time, sole exceptions being ice or snow, and that is my decision, not his. He fell off on Tuesday morning on a roundabout, bashed his knee pretty good, and called home for help. Fortunately a couple of guys running security at a site adjacent to the RAB picked him up and made sure he was OK (I notice this morning they have also made a sign with 'Danger-Ice' on it and placed it by the RAB). I went to pick him up in the van, and was amazed he stayed upright as long as he did. First words to me on arrival, 'At least it happened after I delivered all the papers'...…
He also works at the PO where he does his round from. Again, rain or shine he will ride there and back.

 

[tom73]

I pass a few on my early morning walk to the gym all on bikes what ever the weather. The school run and the need to drive up to the door or the drive to Brownies 5 min walk away is a different story.

 

[Dave 123]

As a teenager part of my round was delivering The Sporting Life to Manny Cooks betting shop in the Sutton Way pub car park in Ellesmere Port.

It was a day like today, cold, dark and grim. I took the left hand bend into the car park and my bike went on the black ice. I can still remember the shock, pain and tears as I looked a the blood and grit on my hands. My trousers were ripped and my knee was bleeding. Some of the newspapers were damaged, but I didn't give a stuff about them.

What upset me most was there were at least half a dozen blokes within 50 yards who saw it happen. They all studiously ignored me. The b$stards.

I heroically finished the round, but my knee was throbbing!

 

[Corky Cyclist]

Time to post this:

 

[Levo-Lon]

I was a hod carrier for Lego at 10 you do not see his on sites anymore.

Joking aside, hods were serious hard work, I've used a few in my early working life on site's.

I remember moaning like hell when the got rid of the 100 weight cement bags and dropped to 25kg, I doubt I could clean and throw one on my shoulder now..god to think I used to unload a lorry load of cement one by one and carry them to the cement shed..

Best thing ever was the hiab and fork trucks

 

[Tenacious Sloth]

Time to post this:

You beat me to it.

I used to get up 15 minutes before I went to bed, jogged 10 miles to deliver 4000 papers - and I paid the local newsagent 10 bob a week for the privilege of doing it.

 

[Brains]

I've been running a Venture/Explorer Unit for the last 30 years.
About 20+ kids aged from 14.5 to 18 (or 20 in the old days)

In the early 90's nearly all of them had jobs (Saturdays or Evening's and even a few full time)
By the late 90's it was down to less than half.
By the early 2000's it was still a few that had a job of some sort.
In the last decade I don't think we have had a single one with a regular paid job of any sort.

 

[NorthernDave]

I used to have a couple of paper rounds, memorably one was for the weekly local free paper, 365 papers to be delivered on a Thursday / Friday for the princely sum of 1p per paper.
I'd always try to get them done on a Thursday, but it was a grind and I soon got myself a better round from the local shop.

The paper "boys" at the shop I pass on the way to work now are both retired people doing it to keep active.